Dr. Kavita Patel, who was former Obama cabinet official and current MSNBC medical contributor, cited that there is a rise in infection again. “…hospitalizations going up. Let me just start with some good news: We are not seeing anywhere near the dramatic rises that we saw in previous summers or previous years,” Patel said.

Noting that the large part of the population is “either been infected and vaccinated or both”, she said “So, what I think people need to know is that, I would just keep people on alert that when you’re in those crowded spaces, think about the cough and the colds, and sometimes many people don’t even have any symptoms.” 

Patel was speaking at the MSNBC’s Jose Diaz-Balart Reports to discuss an uptick in COVID hospitalizations.

‘A mask can be your best friend’

She further pointed out that masks should be brought back after the uptick in COVID hospitalizations.

She said, “A mask can be your best friend. Keep it – Back in time, we had them in our office, in our coats, and our backpacks. Time to bring them out again. Especially as the fall season starts. We don’t want to see kids missing school for things that we could have prevented.”

The report cited, more than 7,100 patients with COVID were hospitalized in the week of July 15, up from 6,444 the prior week, the sharpest percentage increase since December 2022. COVID-related emergency room visits are also on the rise, comprising 0.73% of visits as of July 21, compared to 0.49% a month prior.

“Early indicators of COVID-19 activity (emergency department visits, test positivity and wastewater levels) preceded an increase in hospitalizations seen this past week,” CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley said in a statement.

(With inputs from Fox News)

Updated: 03 Aug 2023, 09:30 AM IST